Zod has taken over a planet and started an illegal mining operation, but why? When Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner went to investigate things did not go as planned. Now imprisoned by Zod, the Lanterns are in very bad shape in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #38.

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The Lanterns Incarcerated as Prisoners of Zod

Previously in issue #37, Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner went to check out an illegal mining operation on a faraway planet. Little did they know that Zod and his family were running the operation! The Lanterns were quickly overwhelmed by the Kryptonians and now, in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #38, they are Zod’s prisoners.

With no way to contact the Lantern Corps and Kyle barely hanging on, things are not looking good for our heroes. Zod has seemingly overtaken this planet and possibly enslaved its inhabitants, but why? Can Hal formulate an escape plan or will Zod’s will be done?

Writing

I am thoroughly enjoying Robert Venditti’s writing in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #38. It is not a game-changing or epic storyline, but it is a lot of fun. It is great to see the Lanterns go up against a villain they normally do not face. Zod and his family pose a great threat to the Lanterns, and it will be interesting to see how they deal with it.

It also feels like Venditti has a great grasp on all of the characters in this series. There are a lot of Lanterns to keep track of, and Venditti catches all of their character aspects. I am also enjoying Venditti’s writing of Zod and his family; there are some pretty good moments between father, son and mother in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #38.

Art

So, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps is another one of DC’s bi-weekly series. In this issue, Ethan Van Sciver and Jason Wright take over art duties. While the art is not bad, it is not as good as the previous issue. Sciver does good detailed work throughout Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #38. The characters look like they are supposed to, and everything flows nicely together as a comic book should. It just lacks the “energy” issue #37 had. The images feel static, whereas in the previous issue everything felt very dynamic and the images felt like they had a movement to them. The colors are a little bit blander and softer than issue #37 also.

All this is not to say it is terrible art. It is still good art but, compared to the previous issue, it brings the book down a few notches. Comic books are a visual medium, so when the art suffers for me the story suffers as well. The artist on issue #37 did the regular cover for this issue and for me you can tell the difference just from that cover and the interior art. There is just a lot of emotion and energy coming off that cover that the interior just does not display.

Conclusion

Overall, I am liking the story being told in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #38. Again, it is not a groundbreaking story or anything, but it is a solid superhero story. It is cool to see the Lanterns go up against unusual villains and how they are going to deal with them. The only major let down is the art stumbles a little with issue #38 when compared to issue #37. While still good comic book art it lacks the energy of issue #37.

About the author

Brent Jackson

Brent is happily married and an avid comic book consumer who loves nothing more than the smell of comics in the morning and diving through a long box of back issues. By day he is a nutritionist and has also been training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for over 10 years. He is probably not the coolest person you have ever met. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @brentjackson30